Resilience against anti-Semitism

Joint event of the Münster Police Headquarters, University of Applied Sciences for Police and Public Administration in North Rhine-Westphalia, Dep. Münster and the University of Münster
© Oleksandr Pidvalnyi auf Pixabay
  • Resilience against anti-Semitism 2024

    It is the responsibility of each and every one of us to strongly oppose racism and anti-Semitism – whether at the regulars' table or in the timeline.
    Volker Bouffier

    On 12 November 2024, Münster Police Headquarters, University of Applied Sciences for Police and Public Administration in North Rhine-Westphalia, Dep. Münster and the University of Münster invite you to a joint event on "Resilience against anti-Semitism".

    The event, to which students who are studying to become teachers in particular are invited, begins at 9 a.m. in H1 (Schlossplatz 46, 48143 Münster).

    Mandatory registration

    Programme

    08:45  09:00 | Admission

    09:00  09:45 | Opening of the event and welcoming

    Prof. Dr. Johannes Wessels, Rector of the University of Münster
    Herbert Reul, Minister of the Interior of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia
    Dani Dayan, Chairman of the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Israel

    09:45 – 10:30 | “Let us never forget”. Lessons from the petitions of Jewish persecutees to Pius XII.

    Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Hubert Wolf, Department of Medieval and Modern Church History, Catholic Theological Faculty, University of Münster

    10:30 – 11:15 | “The Holocaust through Children's Eyes”

    Sabrina Hamidi, Julia Götz and class 10d of Annette-von-Droste-Hülshoff-Gymnasiums in Münster

    11:55  12:45 | Coffee Break

    11:45 – 12:30 | | Anti-Semitism – old hatred in new forms

    Ministerialdirigent Jürgen Kayser, Head of the Department for the Protection of the Constitution at the Ministry of the Interior of North Rhine-Westphalia

    12:30 – 13:15 | Roundtable discussion

    Andrzej Kacorzyk, Vice Director of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum
    Julian Tsapir, Education Coordinator for German-Speaking Countries at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem
    Stefan Querl, Director of the Villa ten Hompel History Site in Münster
    Ludger Hiepel, Officer of the University of Münster against Anti-Semitism

    13:15 – 13:45 | Presentation of the workshop program

    13:45  14:45 | Lunch break and change of location (Schloss)

    14:45  16:15 | Workshops

    The following workshops are offered (in alphabetical order of the workshop leaders):

    • German Jewish Life
      Dana and Sharon

      In this workshop, young people talk about how their lives are shaped by their affiliation with the Jewish faith in Germany.
      They report on how society deals with their faith, as well as the challenges and hostility they face daily.
    • The Shoa in the Eyes of Children, using the example of the children's book “For Tommy on his 3rd Birthday” by Bedrich Fritta
      Sabrina Hamidi and Julia Götz, Annette-von-Droste-Hülshoff-Gymnasium in Münster

      The workshop begins with a theoretical introduction to working with materials from Yad Vashem, including in primary schools. It provides space to try out the material and shows how interdisciplinary project work (such as exhibitions, trips to memorials or working with eyewitnesses) can be carried out. In addition, an overview is given of how a project day on the topic of “preventing Anti-Semitism” can be planned and carried out.
    • Anti-Semitism among Muslims
      Prof. Dr. Mouhanad Khorchide, PD Dr. Sarah Demmrich and Abdulkerim Şenel, Research Center “Islam and Politics”, Center for Islamic Theology

      Anti-Semitism is much more widespread among Muslims than among non-Muslims. The workshop offers a scientifically based outline of the problem with current trends and challenges. The aim is to sensitize participants to this topic in their future practical work.
    • Underground hatred of Jews – Anti-Semitism in left-wing movements
      Nicholas Potter, journalist and author, and Monty Ott, political and religious studies scholar and author, Berlin

      Nobody wants to be an Anti-Semite. Especially not in subcultures and movements with a progressive, emancipatory self-image. But hatred of Jews also goes underground – whether rappers against Rothschilds, DJs for Palestine or Punks Against Apartheid. BDS, the boycott campaign against the Jewish state, wants to hijack almost every cause, from class struggle to climate justice. Well-known myths resurface in an alternative form, at Pride demonstrations, at the documenta or at the commemoration of the Hanau Terror. And many Jews wonder where their place is in such scenes.
    • Bialystok, June 27, 1941: The Massacre and its Impact after 1945
      Peter Römer, Villa ten Hompel History Site in Münster

      The basis of the workshop is a specific historical event in the context of the Shoah, namely the massacre of the Jewish population of Bialystok by German police officers and members of the armed forces a few days after the start of Operation Barbarossa in the summer of 1941. The focus is on the actions and decisions of various actors who were present in Bialystok that day, without, however, creating an equalization of the different groups. The aim is for learners to independently explore various courses of action and to relate these to the actions that actually took place and the decisions that were actually made, in order to recognize the complexity of the spectrum of possible courses of action. The goal is to contextualize the actions and decisions of the people involved.
    • Introduction to the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict
      Andreas Stahl, Central Office for the Advice and Monitoring of Anti-Semitic Incidents at Universities in North Rhine-Westphalia, Münster

      This workshop offers an introduction to the history of Zionism and the founding of the State of Israel. Particular attention will be paid to the first Arab-Israeli war in 1948. The discussion will also address the question of what has stood in the way of the oft-cited “two-state solution” since the beginning of the conflict and which central ideological and personal continuities play a role in this.
    • Anti-Semitism. Doesn't exist here. Or does it?
      Julian Tsapir, Education Coordinator for German-Speaking Countries at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem

      Anti-Semitism manifests itself throughout society in the form of violence that Jews experience every day. However, in order to deal with Anti-Semitism professionally in everyday life, it is necessary to react not only when Anti-Semitic attacks have already occurred. Based on case studies, this workshop also addresses subtle forms of Anti-Semitism and touches on other forms of discrimination in order to sensitize participants to the experiences of those affected and to expand their individual ability to intervene.
    • Learning from life stories – practical insights into the project “Asking the Pope for Help”
      Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Hubert Wolf and Jana Haack, Department of Medieval and Modern Church History at the Faculty of Catholic Theology, University of Münster, and Alissa Geisler, Institute for Religious Education and Pastoral Theology at the Faculty of Catholic Theology, University of Münster

      The digital edition of the pleas for help from Jewish people to Pius XII, as part of the project “Asking the Pope for Help”, opens up a completely new didactic perspective: with the help of the teaching material, students can discover, develop and compare a wide range of biographies of persecuted people in times of totalitarianism, world war and the Shoah, based on the pleas for help. The biographical vignettes that can be gleaned from the material vividly and tangibly bring to life the life paths and fates of Jews, reflecting a broad spectrum of Judaism in Europe before, during, and after the Shoah. During the workshop, the teaching material will be presented and the potential of the letters of petition for developing resilience against Anti-Semitism from a religious education perspective will be highlighted. The focus will also be on the Vatican's handling of the letters of petition and on reflecting on one's own professional practice and scope for action.
    • Current forms of Anti-Semitism / Anti-Israelism
      Dr. Gil Yaron, Director of the NRW Office in Israel

    Registered participants will receive further information on the selection by email in the next few days.

    16:20  16:30 | Farewell

    Alexandra Dorndorf, Chief of the Münster Police Department

    Moderation of the day:
    Susanne Dittert, University of Applied Sciences for Police and Public Administration North Rhine-Westphalia
    Ludger Hiepel, Officer of the University of Münster against Anti-Semitism
    Alexander Koch, Münster Police

    The event is supported by Sparkasse Münsterland Ost
    and the Commissioner for Anti-Semitism of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.

  • Resilience against anti-Semitism 2023

    Remembering hurts. It triggers horror and makes us fall silent and cry out at the same time. Facing up to the most oppressive truths of our history is indispensable.
    Prof. Dr. Rita Süssmuth - former President of the Bundestag

    On 12 September 2023, Münster Police Headquarters, University of Applied Sciences for Police and Public Administration in North Rhine-Westphalia, Dep. Münster and the University of Münster invite you to a joint event on "Resilience against anti-Semitism".

    The event, to which students with the goal of becoming teachers are especially invited, will take place in H1 (Schlossplatz 46, 48143 Münster).

    Registration is requested: gegen.antisemitismus@uni-muenster.de

    Programme

    08:45  09:00 | Admission

    09:00  09:40 | Opening of the event and welcoming

    Prof. Dr. Michael Quante,Vice-Rector for Internationalization, Knowledge Transfer and Sustainability
    Christoph Keller, HSPV NRW, Head of Münster Department
    Dani Dayan, Chairman of the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Israel

    09:40  11:10 | Approaches to the topic of the Holocaust and perpetration using the example of a deportation of German Jews from Düsseldorf to Riga

    Julian Tsapir, Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Israel

    11:10  11:55 | Administrative and police history in the context of anti-Semitism prevention - What does it have to do with me?

    Peter Römer and Naomi Roth, Villa ten Hompel History Site in Münster

    11:55  12:45 | Lunch Break

    12:45  13:30 | Anti-Semitism - old hatred in new forms

    Ministerialdirigent Jürgen Kayser, Head of the Department for the Protection of the Constitution at the Ministry of the Interior of North Rhine-Westphalia

    13:30 – 14:30 | Anti-Semitism and conspiracy theories on the net - moderated dialogue followed by discussion

    Ludger Hiepel, Daniel Freitag and Daria Hartmann, University of Münster

    14:30  14:50 | Break

    14:50  - 15:35  | Current forms of anti-Israelism

    Dr. Gil Yaron, Head of the NRW Office in Israel

    15:35 - 15:50 | Summary and outlook

    Susanne Dittert, HSPV NRW
    Ludger Hiepel, Rector's Officer at the University of Münster against Anti-Semitism
    Alexander Koch, Münster Police

    15:50 - 16:15 | Farewell

    Alexandra Dorndorf, Chief of the Münster Police Department